Tenancy deposit protection time limits for compliance
A landlord or agent must protect a deposit paid by an assured shorthold tenant and provide the prescribed information within the statutory time limit.
Restrictions, sanctions and time limits
A landlord or agent who fails to comply within the relevant time limit is liable to financial sanctions and restrictions on the use of a section 21 notice to end the tenancy.
There are set time limits within which a landlord should comply with the requirements of the tenancy deposit scheme. These depend on when the tenancy deposit was received by the landlord.
Deposits received on or after 6 April 2012
For a deposit received on or after 6 April 2012, the landlord/agent must protect the deposit and serve the prescribed information within 30 days of receiving the deposit.[1]
If the landlord or agent do not do so, the:
tenant can make a section 214 claim for a sum of between one and three times the value of the deposit
landlord cannot use a section 21 notice in most circumstances
Deposits received between 6 April 2007 and 5 April 2012
Before 6 April 2012 the time limit for compliance with the tenancy deposit protection rules was 14 days.
The landlord or agent who received a deposit between 6 April 2007 and 5 April 2012 had 14 days to protect the deposit and serve the prescribed information.[2] There were no sanctions for late compliance as long as the deposit was protected and prescribed information was served before the court hearing, even if this was after the 14-day time limit.[3]
From 6 April 2012, the time limit for compliance was extended to 30 days.[4]
Landlords or agents of assured shorthold tenancies in existence on 6 April 2012 had until 6 May 2012 to comply with the tenancy deposit protection obligations, unless they had done so already.[5]
In order to serve a valid section 21 notice on a tenancy where a deposit was received between 6 April 2007 and 5 April 2012 the landlord must have either:
protected the deposit before 6 May 2012
returned the deposit to the tenant before serving a section 21 notice
If the landlord failed to comply, the tenant could also make a section 214 claim for a sum of between one and three times the value of the deposit. Deposit compensation claims are subject to the Limitations Act 1980 and time limit for taking action is 6 years from when the breach occurred.
Deposit received before 6 April 2007
Even though the law governing the protection of tenancy deposits came into effect on 6 April 2007, most assured shorthold tenancies that commenced before this date are affected by the legislation.
Statutory periodic tenancy arose on or after 6 April 2007
Where a deposit was paid in respect of a fixed-term tenancy before 6 April 2007, and the tenancy became a statutory periodic tenancy on or after that date, then unless the deposit had been returned or the tenancy had ended, the landlord/agent had to protect the deposit and serve the prescribed information by 23 June 2015.[6]
If the deposit was not protected and/or the prescribed information not served, the:
tenant can make a section 214 claim for a sum of between one and three times the value of the deposit
landlord is prevented from serving a section 21 notice in most circumstances
Statutory periodic tenancy arose before 6 April 2007
Where a deposit was paid in respect of a fixed-term tenancy that became a statutory periodic tenancy before 6 April 2007, and has never been renewed since, the landlord or agent is not liable to a Section 214 claim if they failed to protect the deposit or serve the prescribed information.
However, in most circumstances, the landlord or their agent cannot use a section 21 notice to end the tenancy.[7]
It is not clear whether a failure to serve the prescribed information would invalidate a section 21 notice in this scenario.
Last updated: 5 July 2022
Footnotes
- [1]
s.213(3) Housing Act 2004, as inserted by s.32 Deregulation Act 2015.
- [2]
s.213(3) Housing Act 2004, before introduction of amendment.
- [3]
Vision Enterprises LTD v Tiensia [2010] EWCA Civ 1224.
- [4]
s.184(2) Localism Act 2011.
- [5]
art 16, Localism Act 2011 (Commencement No. 4 and Transitional, Transitory and Saving Provisions) Order 2012 SI 2012/628.
- [6]
s.215A Housing Act 2004, as inserted by s.32 Deregulation Act 2015.
- [7]
s.215(1) Housing Act 2004.